Everything You Need To Know About The Tesla Model 3

On March 31, Tesla unveils its first affordable car.

On March 31, Tesla will finally take the wraps off its first truly affordable offering, the Model 3. It could very well be the most important vehicle in the electric carmaker's lineup—mostly because, at a promised sticker price of USD35,000, it'll be the only Tesla most regular car buyers can afford. Ahead of the official unveiling, here's everything we think we know about the first affordable Tesla.

But we still don't know whether we'll see a crossover variant at the official unveiling on March 31. Regarding the debut event, Musk said last month, "We are not gonna show everything about the Model 3 until a lot closer to production time."

It will have a promised 320KM range, and maybe lots more.

The EPA rates the highest-range Model S, the all-wheel-drive 90D, at 435KM of range, but Tesla says the Model 3 will shoot for an even 321KM. The lower range is most likely a move to keep costs down—bigger batteries cost more to build—though it may also be a factor of the Model 3's smaller platform size. Here again, we see some even-matched competition with the 2017 Chevy Bolt, which also claims a 321KM battery range.

And if you're up for an upgrade, a last-minute report says an optional 80kWh battery will push range past 482KM.

Fans think there might be a high-performance version with Ludicrous Mode.

Fair warning, we're getting into the murky mire of Tesla superfans here, but: The folks on the forum Tesla Motors Club have set up a spreadsheet of people who are camping out, reserving their place in line to put in some of the first Model 3 preorders. If you scroll down the list, you'll see a lot of first-in-line-ers have their hopes on a dual-motor all-wheel-drive Model 3 with the high-performance P prefix. Model 3 P80D with Ludicrous Mode? We have no idea if it will actually happen, now or ever. But it would be rad, and it would definitely bolster Tesla's hopes of competing with cars like the Audi A4 and BMW 3-series, both of which have very serious performance versions.

That hunch was seemingly confirmed by a leak from an unnamed Tesla insider, who claims that a version of the Model 3 will do 0-60 in under four seconds. Sure sounds like an all-wheel-drive, dual-motor variant to us.

If it sounds like Tesla's making a very mainstream-friendly car here, you're not wrong. Tesla wants to sell as many of these things as it can. Musk has said he wants the automaker to sell 500,000 cars annually by the year 2020, and an affordable sedan and crossover are a major part of that plan. Given that Tesla has sold fewer than 200,000 cars since 2008, that's a big potential ramp-up.

If you want one of the first Model 3s, you have to live in California or already own a Tesla.

Tesla stores will begin accepting in-person reservations as soon as they open on March 31; online reservations open up at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time that day. People are already in line at Tesla stores worldwide. Priority for Model 3 reservations will be given to current Tesla owners, the same way Ferrari does.